A Little Demon's Tale: Chap. 1

Chapter 1:
Warm Eyes Other than...



It really was such a sweet little darling.  Looking down at the swaddling-wrapped little creature lying on the sofa, seventeen-year-old Tabitha let slip a small murmur of delight.

She had been driving back home from school with her father, feeling strangely unnerved by the ferocity of the storm raging above them, and the streaked bolts of lightning cracking down upon the earth. Then she caught sight of a burning oak tree on the edge of a forest several metres away, lying on its side from the force of a lightning strike.

Her father immediately decided to put out the fire before it spread to the whole forest and killed the helpless inhabitants.

He stopped the family farm-truck by the side of the road, both of them getting out, running to the boot and taking out several canisters of water he kept in case the engine ran out of the liquid.

Then they both ran as fast as they could while lugging their heavy load towards the flames. Thankfully the blaze was not too severe, and they managed to quickly douse it into smoking embers of bitter-smelling leaves and wood.

Glad, they turned back to the truck—but then something dark beneath the fallen tree caught Tabitha's eye.

She stopped and turned to look down curiously.

Then she saw it.

A tiny clawed black hand...

She screamed for her father and fought to free the creature from the burnt trunk crushing it...

*

And now, here it was. Both Tabitha and her father had never come across a creature like this, and they were pretty sure they would never do so again.

It was extremely small, roughly only reaching up to Tabitha's knee. After seeing it fully earlier, Tabitha saw that from the hip down it was covered in a soft black fur, as well as from the middle of its little arms downwards. Its fingers were small black claws.  From the creature's shoulders sprouted two adorable little bat-like wings, and, from its behind, a now-still long tail with tufty black hair at its end.

Its wings had been damaged by the sharp branches and seared by the flames, and had appropriately been soothed with cold water and bandages. Luckily, the fragile bones were unharmed. Its spine had fractured with the force of the falling tree, and the creature had been laid on its back and given sedatives to ease any pain, or sudden movement harmful to its injury, upon awakening.

It was not the first time Tabitha thanked God her dad was a vet.

Its face was just adorable. Heart-shaped and large, it was framed by downy black hair that gently flicked outwards in pointed little tufts, a stray cluster hanging down between its eyes. Stranger yet, the creature lacked a mouth entirely. But this just added to its sweet appearance.

Strange, tapering black tear markings streaked from its forehead and down past eyelids to its jaw, and its eyebrows were thick and black.

Permanent tears...


And sprouting from its scalp—two tiny horns...


*
The creature felt itself rise out from the frightening darkness to stare at two warm green eyes.

Its own emerald orbs shot open.

Papa!

It reached up in joy, but winced as a horrible jab of pain raced through its body and fell back.

The green-eyed stranger reached down and steadied him, concerned.

'No, no—you have to lie down, sweetie!' she consoled gently, stroking its forehead as a mother does a sick child.

The creature stared, stunned by this strange female voice and warped, alien surroundings smelling of unfamiliar things.

A horrible realisation sank into its heart as it forced itself to focus on the stranger above it. It was a human girl's voice. This place was...a human house.

This was...not Papa...

This was not...home.

Huge welling tears clouded the little creature's vision, and spilled down the side of  its face and onto the blanket it was wrapped in.

The stranger's eyes widened in shock.

'Oh, no, baby, don't cry! It's alright, sweet, it really is!' she soothed, distressed at seeing the creature so anguished. 'You're safe here; we won't hurt you, promise!'

But still the injured creature would not be consoled. It wept, aching inside for someone that was not there. Someone it did not know when would be there. It was frightened. So frightened. It wanted to get out, but the pain—

Someone help...

Papa...Papa!...Papa!!...

'Dad!' the stranger called out, 'It's getting distressed!'

A horrible thudding of fast feet banged closer and closer...

The creature could take it no longer and flew upwards—only to be paralysed by a blinding shock of pain, falling almost unconscious onto the blankets. Fear clenched its mind.

It was trapped...

A man's voice...soft and soothing.

'Hey, now, you're hurt—you have to lie down. Don't worry, we'll take care of you until you're well enough to fly again.'

The creature, dazed, tried to focus on the concern in the man's voice. But was he lying? Was he a bad human? Papa always said there were good humans and bad humans, and that sometimes the bad humans pretended to be good humans.

But their concern sounded absolutely genuine...

What should it do?

The creature knew it could not fly now...because...because...Ah! The memories of the twisting grey thunder, flashes, hisses and burst of fire flooded back into the little humanoid bat's mind.

Its tears stopped and it stared, wide-eyed.

These people...must have saved it.

Overwhelmed with relief, its breathing steadied.

The two humans smiled in relief almost equalling its own.

'Look, dad, he's calmed down!' she said happily. 'He must've realised we meant well.'

The girl's father nodded.

'It's an intelligent little thing,' the man observed. 'And very sturdy—not every creature could survive having a tree fall on them.'
From the tone of the man's voice, the creature knew it was being complimented, and closed its eyes in pride.

The girl laughed.

'Aw, he liked that!' she giggled, patting his head lightly.

The creature stared at her. Human laughter. It felt so nice...so warm...

It partially filled the hole that had been gouged in his chest the moment he left...

This raw memory brought tears to the creature's eyes again, and it turned away, not wanting them to be sad about him anymore.

But the human girl saw its tears anyway, and she knelt beside it, wiping them away with her delicate long fingers.

'Hey, it's alright...' she whispered softly. 'My dad's a vet, so you'll be healed in no time, then you can go back home to your family,'

The creature stared into the girl's soft green eyes, sniffling quietly. It didn't know what a 'vet' was, but by the sound of her voice it assumed it was a human job taking care of things like itself.

But the human didn't know...she didn't know about Papa...

Fiercely blinking the tears away, the creature decided there and then to never tell them about him. That way he would never cry in front of them and make them sad.

Papa said that, as he protected his son, his son should protect people it loved.

So from this moment on, it vowed to protect these humans from sadness.

The creature nodded assuringly, and the girl smiled.

'I'm so glad you understand,' she said, standing up. The creature now saw she was dressed in loose blue garments, her short honey-brown hair framing her face, her face bright and open, green eyes luminous with life.

Then she said: 'By the way, my name's Tabitha! You can call me Tabby, like everyone does!'

She gestured to the man beside her.

'This is my dad!'

Tabby's dad nodded politely.

'You can call me James. Except you, Tabby,' he added, grinning.

Tabby laughed.

Her father wore casual grey trousers and a white shirt, his hair slightly tousled and blonde. His green eyes, identical to his daughter's, were calm and understanding, and seemed to fill the room with a peaceful air.

The creature was suddenly filled with love, and also the urge to hug them both—but remembering the pain that coursed through it every time it moved, it wisely stayed put.

'We're going to bed now, sweetie,' Tabby informed it, 'You get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning.'

The creature nodded. Waking up in their warm house with their lovely smiles...just paradise.

Tabby and her father turned  and walked to the other side of the room where the stair was, her father ascending its wooden steps first, Tabby going up after him.

She paused, turned to look down at the tiny little creature watching her from the sofa, and asked:

'Would you like me to leave the light on?'

The creature nodded without hesitation. The dark was a scary, scary place...

Tabby smiled and nodded.

'Sure thing. See you tomorrow, sweetie.'

The creature raised a little furry arm and waved.

With a giggle of delight, Tabby raced up the stairs and was gone.


*

Alone and blissfully happy among the blankets, the little creature snuggled into their warmth, and the dreams of light its sleep blessed it with.


*
To Be Continued..